Thursday, February 26, 2015

2014 Books Read {Pathetic}

When I was young, we had a huge tree in the backyard with a split about 4 feet off the ground that was the perfect shape and size for me to cozy up in there with a book. I was a huge fan of the Boxcar Children, Babysitters' Club, American Girl (Kirsten, obvsly), and the Little House series. Then there are the books I read approximately 47 times each, like Charlotte's Web, James and the Giant Peach, and anything by Judy Blume.

I pretty much always had a pleasure book (that sounds dirty) in my backpack along with my textbooks, and whenever we took a road trip or vacation I had to bring several options to keep me occupied during any downtime. Otherwise I'd have to, like, talk to people? Nope. #nopenopenope. When we were assigned a book in high school, I read it. Why would anyone not want to read The Great Gatsby or To Kill a Mockingbird? Those bitches didn't know what they were missing! In college I took it a step further by reading pleasure books instead of my textbooks and reading on the quad instead of going to class. Bad. Also, beer.

{Side note: How annoying was it to listen to those presentations from the girls who obviously
didn't read the book because they said their favorite character was Daisy Buchanan. Um, no. Daisy was
a bitch. She couldn't wait on poor Jay to get back from the war so she married a rich dude instead because
status. She cheated on rich dude with Gatsby, let Gatsby take the blame for the car accident, causing him to get
shot by Tom Wilson, and then left town with rich dude and DIDN'T EVEN SHOW UP TO GATSBY'S FUNERAL.
No. She's not your favorite. She's a terrible person.}

Needless to say, I love books. Well, love[d].

You probably guessed (or already knew) that my college reading habits did not do my GPA any favors, which means I didn't graduate, which led me to go back to school and do it right this time. I threw myself all in to studying, assignments, papers - all the stuff I should have done the first time - and burned out on reading. So.much.reading.

Once I graduated, I didn't ever want to look at another book. I figured that feeling would last a few months and then I'd be back at it, but it has been almost 2 years now and I am just starting to feel the urge. I have big plans for 2015, which I'll write about later, but for 2014 I read a whopping TWO books. Haha.

{Actually 2.5 because I tried with all my might to read Gone Girl, but it just wasn't happening. 
That book is terrible. I actually threw it in the trash rather than donating it because I felt strongly
that I didn't want to subject anyone else to it. That's really mean, but I really did not like it. It's obviously
very popular and has since been made into a movie, but I just don't get its appeal.}

I have been watching Youtubers lately instead of reading blogs, and one of the channels I love is booksandquills. She suggested a book {We Were Liars by E. Lockhart} for people who, like myself, have fallen out of the habit of reading and want something easy yet interesting enough to keep your attention in order to get back into the routine - and it worked! I started it while I was lounging at the pool on vacation in the Outer Banks with friends, and had finished it by the next afternoon!

After I finished that book I read Horrorstor, recommended by another Youtuber, bookishthoughts. It won't win any literary awards, but if you love IKEA, ghosts, or making fun of/debunking ghost hunters on TV, you'll like it. Employees of an IKEA-like store start to notice weird things about the furniture and other merchandise in the mornings when they open, so a few of them go on an adventure after the store is closed to figure out who/what is causing the commotion. It's fun.

So 2 books. Better than no books, but I have a goal to read 15 books this year. I'll settle for an average of one per month, but hoping for 15 in '15 because it's catchy. I've already finished 2, matching my whopping reading total from last year, and I've started a list of books I want to read. A list which is sure to grow throughout the year. I'll post that list separately once it's finished.

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